Stalag XX-A

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Stalag XX-A
Toruń, German-occupied Poland
Fort XI of the Toruń Fortress, one of the forts occupied by Stalag XX-A
Stalag XX-A is located in Poland
Stalag XX-A
Stalag XX-A
Coordinates53°01′N 18°35′E / 53.01°N 18.59°E / 53.01; 18.59
TypePrisoner-of-war camp
Site information
Controlled by Nazi Germany
Site history
In use1939–1945
Battles/warsWorld War II
Garrison information
OccupantsPolish, British, French, Australian and Soviet prisoners of war

Stalag XX-A was a German World War II prisoner-of-war camp located in Toruń in German-occupied Poland. It was not a single camp and contained as many as 20,000 men at its peak. The main camp was located in seven forts of the 19th-century Toruń Fortress, located in the southern part of the city.[1]

History

Fort XVII, one of the forts occupied by Stalag XX-A

In September 1939 some of the forts were used as POW camps for Polish prisoners, specifically those captured after the surrender of the Polish fort at

51st (Highland) Infantry Division captured at Saint-Valery-en-Caux. In 1941 and 1942 Soviet prisoners arrived. At the peak there were about 10,000 prisoners at the camp. However, many of them were located in sub-camps. The camp was expanded by building additional wooden barracks.[1]

The POWs in the camp were often weakened, exhausted, and various diseases were prevalent, including dysentery, diphtheria, tuberculosis, peptic ulcer disease, etc.[2] Many suffered from depression and had mental breakdowns, and there was a case of suicide.[2] Australian prisoner of war Walter Edward Smith [pl] recalled random extrajudicial executions of Polish prisoners of war carried out by the Germans (see German atrocities committed against Polish prisoners of war).[3] Many POWs died in the camp.[2] A hospital was located in Fort XIV, which was operated by the British Sanitary Corps.[4]

The Polish resistance movement facilitated escapes of British POWs from the camp, subsequently sheltering them in Bydgoszcz, and transporting them through Gdynia to neutral Sweden.[5]

The camp was liberated on 1 February 1945 by the Soviet Army.

Memorial to British POWs of Stalag XX-A

Sub-camps

In accordance with the

International Red Cross and British POW Sam Kydd living conditions in the sub-camps were much better than in the main camp.[6] The POWs received better food there, and they had contact with people from the outside, despite the fact that such contacts were forbidden.[7]
Some camps were large and created for a particular project.

Historical Note:

British actor Sam Kydd was a prisoner in one of these camps throughout the war. During his internment, where he remained for the next five years, he took command of the camp's theatrical activities - devising and staging plays. He felt so strongly about his work there that, when he was offered repatriation after three years, he turned it down to continue with his theatrical work. While imprisoned in a sub-camp in Wyrzysk, Sam Kydd had contact with local Poles and learned various phrases in Polish.[8]

Notable prisoners

References

  1. ^
    ISSN 0557-2177
    .
  2. ^ a b c Bukowska, p. 112
  3. ^ a b Paweł Bukowski (August 2015). "Walczył w Powstaniu Warszawskim ramię w ramię z Polakami". Nowości Dziennik Toruński (in Polish). Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  4. ^ Bukowska, p. 113
  5. ISSN 0137-5377
    .
  6. ^ a b Bukowska, p. 107
  7. ^ Bukowska, p. 107-108
  8. ^ Bukowska, p. 108
  9. ^ "The National Archives, War Office: German Record cards of British PoWs, WO 416/55/437".
  10. ^ Ronald Black (1999), An Tuil: Anthology of 20th century Scottish Gaelic Verse, page 757-759.

External links

Further reading


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